"I don't speak all languages fluently, but I know how they are pronounced, how they sound and how they feel."

Chansons are his passion: Mayo Velvo is a dandy and entertainer and probably Düsseldorf's only chansonnier. His fans love his annual ESC event, his traditional Christmas concerts and his regular appearances at Bar Lola. In an interview, Mayo told us how he got into music, how he manages to interpret chansons in at least ten languages and why he is probably Düsseldorf's longest-serving record seller.

Mayo, you sing chansons in a wide variety of languages. How did you get into music?
I listened to a lot of music as a child. Other children would sing songs by pop stars with a hairbrush in their hands, but I created entire "mini musicals" that had nothing to do with copying the original performers. It probably wasn't very good at first, but later I developed more and more ideas on how to bring it to the stage. At the age of 18, I finally found some fellow performers with whom I organized performances. This eventually led to the entertainer Mayo Velvo.

You actually come from Baden-Württemberg. When did you come to Düsseldorf?
I came here from Stuttgart almost exactly 60 years ago at the age of five. My mother followed her second husband, who was from Düsseldorf.

You have French roots, your biological father was French. Is that why you are a chansonnier?
Chansons were the easiest to perform, I just needed a pianist. In addition, Georgette Dee was a great role model for me at the time, who told stories as well as singing chansons - I thought that was great.

You also used to sing pop songs from the 1920s ...
That's true, especially at the beginning of my stage career, but never exclusively. I don't want to be nostalgic all the time, I just want to use it as a kind of stylistic device from time to time. As a teenager, I found the role of the emcee in "Cabaret" impressive and sometimes went out like that, for example to the legendary Ratinger Hof: everyone wore leather jackets, only I was in a tailcoat. (Laughs.)

Do you also write your own chansons?
I write lyrics to existing songs or have translated French chansons into German and then interpreted them a little differently.

You put on your own "ESC Gala" at the Jazzschmiede every year. How did this come about?
In 1971, I saw a "Grand Prix Eurovision de la Chanson" on television for the first time. At the time, I found it very interesting that songs were sung in Finnish or Swedish - languages I had never heard before in a musical context - and I loved the songs. From then on, I watched the "Grand Prix" every year and became a big fan. In 2011, the "Eurovision Song Contest", as it has been called since 2004, came to Düsseldorf and I thought: now I'll make a program for it! The first event was so well received that I continued, but a little differently each time, for example with the high and lowlights of the previous year's winning country, stories about the contest and its history, the creation of the songs and about the performers.

This is where your great talent for languages comes into play: you sing songs from different countries - and you do it so well that people get the impression that you speak all these languages fluently. How do you do that?
I have the Romance languages in my repertoire, I can also speak Dutch and I often went to Denmark as a child. I don't speak all the languages fluently, but I know how to pronounce them, how they sound and feel. What's more, I've known many of the songs for many, many years. Of course, there are languages that are more foreign to me; next year, for example, I would like to sing a Turkish song for the first time. Because exactly 50 years ago, Turkey was at the Grand Prix for the first time. The song is a classic that at least many Turkish people still know and love. I try to sing it onomatopoeically, I got the sheet music and asked a Turkish friend for help. It's important for me to know what I'm singing.

Another annual highlight is your Christmas revue "Have yourself a Velvo little Christmas", which can be seen from December 5 at the Jazzschmiede and the Bürgerhaus Reisholz.
I've been doing this since 2004, we're celebrating our 20th anniversary this year. From Bing Crosby to "Silent Night, Holy Night" and "Petit Papa Noël", I sing Christmas carols, touching but also quirky songs and tell two not-so-classic Christmas stories.

We met at the beautiful Bar Lola, where you have a poster hanging in a glass case at the entrance with the dates of various gigs. Are you something like the "resident chansonnier" here?
Bar Lola also has a small stage in its unusually decorated ambience and the team are fans of chansons. That's why they asked me if I could imagine performing at Bar Lola. Since then, I've enjoyed performing on the first Saturday of every month.

So far, we've mainly talked about the entertainer Mayo Velvo. But you also used to DJ a lot and work at the record store A&O Medien, which has just celebrated its 20th birthday. Music is obviously very important in your life.
I am music: Je suis musique! When I was little, my vice-father had a very good record collection with classic musicals such as "My Fair Lady", "Oklahoma", "The Sound of Music", all these Broadway pieces, mainly from the 1940s and 1950s. I found them enchanting as a child and loved dancing to the music. At the beginning of the 1970s, I started buying my own records. When I came home with a new record under my jacket, my mother would say: "Oh, not another one - why don't you listen to the records you already have first?" (Laughs.)

What plans do you have? Are you staying true to the chansons or are there other projects in the pipeline?
I'm always working on new projects. I'm currently experimenting with my creative sparring partner Just Mike - also in terms of demo recordings and internet presence. We write the lyrics ourselves and then feed an AI with our music ideas, sometimes singing them in to give a direction. The AI then generates songs from them. That's very exciting. You can listen to the results under "Velvomania" on Spotify. Overall, I'm currently exploring new avenues, as my esteemed pianist Thomas Möller, with whom I've worked for over 25 years, has largely retired from live performances. That's why I'm looking for new musical companions or even a small band.

Finally, where can you meet Mayo Velvo in private in Düsseldorf?
I like to go to Blende on Bilker Allee, a place I've known since the 1970s. Of course I go to the Lola bar and in summer I like to socialize outside at the "EVK-Büdchen". In the old town, I like to go to the Destille, where you can also eat delicious food. The same goes for the Portuguese restaurant Frango Português on Kiefernstraße, one of my favorite restaurants. I also like the square by St. Lambert's Church, where you can find a bit of peace and quiet in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the old town.

velvo.de

Text: Katja Vaders
Photo: Kristina Fendesack